The Ships What?
by TripleC Squared
Summary: On the Dutchman, Will and his crew come acrossed a very strange crew member, who isn't too happy about the way things stand. Post AWE
1. Chapter 1

Life aboard the Dutchman was dull.

After three years, the tasks of finding shipwrecks, dragging the dead and dying aboard, offering them a choice…Well, the choice changed from man to man, but it still offered only two paths. Either they joined his crew, or he ferried them to the other side.

Will was board, and lonely, terribly lonely. Every day of those three years had dragged along.

_Three years gone, only 7 more to go._

He had it figured down to the day, the hour, the minute when he could hold Elizabeth in his arms again.

But that only seemed to make the days longer, the unchanging seas of World's End all the more depressing, and his lifelong task just that. A task, a chore.

The men, of course, knew what to do upon approaching a shipwreck.

They'd fish the souls out and wait for the captain.

And the Captain knew his part. To be the ferryman or the captain.

The _Rosa-Marie _had been a small trading vessel, who'd run afoul of a storm. She'd sunk with all hands.

Will's crew had to fish every one of the souls from the water.

The Captain sighed, leaning against the side of the ship as the crew began the onerous task of fetching the souls to the deck.

On occasion, the newly dead might fight, or fuss, or scream and cry. But as long as the ship remained on her task, there were no grand ship-to-ship battles, or any real risks for her crew and Captain.

The Dutchman liked that.

The Captain found it dull, after the life he'd led on the seas before.

He was sliding back in his dreaming when an unholy sound sounded from the deck.

Will turned quickly, fearing an attack.

The crew was trying no to laugh.

Sitting in the middle of the deck was a soaking wet _cat._

Will stifled a laugh as the bedraggled creature gave him an imperious look.

The Dutchman hummed beneath her Captain's feet.

The cat got up, stalked to a pile of rope, and made her self comfortable, settling down to get her fur lying in the correct direction and _dry._

He exchanged an amused glance with his father, and then walked to the cat, accepting that the crew would have a few more laughs at his expense.

The Boson was already snickering.

Struggling to keep his face straight and the laughter out of his voice, Will looked at the cat.

She gave him an arch look, and then went back to cleaning her tail.

He cleared his throat, coughing to cover a laugh and asked. "Will you serve, Cat?"

The cat responded with a single meow and contained her task.

Perhaps his task wasn't _always_ tedious.


	2. Chapter 2

She stalked her prey.

From the Captain's quarters to the main deck, she followed him, body low to the ground, and tail a twitch behind her, utterly silent.

The captain was going about his morning tasks, walking the decks and speaking to the crew.

The object of her attention, a yard of cloth strung round his waist and catching the air of his passage, would be hers.

The crew, watching her on her hunt, were gamely attempting to hide smiles.

The captain was oblivious to the predator stalking him.

She was too sneaky for him to see her.

A crewman stepped out of her way, his eyes twinkling with barley suppressed mirth. She glanced at him, dismissed him, and continued following her captain.

She coiled her body, ready to spring.

The captain paused to speak to his second.

Ah, perfect, the prey was completely unaware of her, and now helpless before her gaze, she stretched her claws, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and take him down.

Bootstrap carefully didn't look at his son's precursor, out of fear he wouldn't be able to keep a straight face.

She leapt, at the last moment deciding to forgo the belt, clamoring to her Captain's shoulders.

The crew was careful in adverting their eyes and muffling their laughter.

The Captain staggered, hit out of nowhere by eight pounds of flying beast.

Bootstrap coughed, mumbling something about one of the crew calling him, and did an about-face before the laughter could overtake him.

She settled on his shoulders, kneading the flesh beneath her paws and starting to purr.

The captain leaned forward, resting his hands on his chin and shifting a bit to make his position on the deck a bit more comfortable and sighed.

Her tail twitched in front of his face, brushing teasingly against his chin.

Will shook his head slowly, turning his head to the side to look at the creature that had been stalking him all over the Dutchman's decks. "Happy?"

The cat purred on.


End file.
